House Shoes with Head Lights
by Brass Tacked
Summary: Sasuke has to marry or he loses the Uchiha fortune and he wants Naruto, but the blonde seems to have another man in his life and just how does Itachi fit into this equation? SasuNaru
1. Meetings

**Disclaimer:** Not mine!

**Warning: **Shounen-ai, Yaoi, possible lime/lemon in future chapter/s SasuNaru

_House Shoes with Head Lights _

Pushing through the hordes of fan girls that seemed to always know his exact location, Sasuke began to expect that someone had planted a tracking system on him. Things had intensified recently when it came to his stalkers. Word had gotten out that he had to find a bride before his eighteenth birthday or else the entire Uchiha fortune would go to the village. It was a nasty little clause that his father had inserted into his will to make sure that his sons were being responsible and had ties to keep them in Konoha. Sasuke felt like he could laugh just thinking about. His brother was an S-ranked criminal and he had become a missing-nin at the age of twelve. He suspected that his father would not be happy if he knew about those little tidbits. Of course Sasuke had come back after killing Orochimaru and Kabuto, it turned out that he had become to soft hearted when it came to his home and his friends and had sacrificed his quest for power so that he could protect them.

Being the hero of the village had its perks, like not being incarcerated for his treasonous activities, but it also had its downfalls. His following of crazed fans had increased tenfold and with his birthday in six months things were starting to get a little out of hand. At least Sakura had given up on him; she had lost hope when she had discovered that his preferred sexual partners do not shave their legs. She had blamed herself at first for his sexuality, thinking that if she had not made so many desperate advances he would never have turned away from the females of the species. Eventually she had gotten over it and realized that it was no one's fault, that it was just the ways things were. Then she found out who he had a crush on and immediately began scheming to bring the two of them together.

When Sasuke had voiced his fears that maybe Naruto was not into guys Sakura had laughed. And laughed. And laughed. When she stopped laughing she had looked at Sasuke's face and then began laughing again. He never understood just what was so funny and she had never explained it to him, only left him with the cryptic words 'we'll see.' That had been two months ago and still there had been no progress in their planning. He knew that none of the delays were Sakura's fault, they were not his either. Part of that time Naruto had been away on a mission, one no one would talk about. It annoyed Sasuke to no end that the blonde was going on secret missions, dangerous ones from what he could tell, and he was stuck at home having to find a bride. Not that he really cared what happened to the money, it was only money after all, but it was pride that ate away at him. That and the fact that if there was a deadline and he established whether or not Naruto liked him as more than a friend, maybe he could get his blonde dobe to marry him without much hassle.

Naruto's missions were not the only things interfering with the plans either. That brought Sasuke back to his current problem, the fan girls. They were everywhere he went which made it difficult to talk to Naruto in private. Sakura had attempted to pull them off using a replication technique, but it did not work. That was one of the things that made him think that they were tracking him somehow. No one, not a single ditzy girl had fallen for the fake Sasuke. He had thought that maybe a device had been planted on his clothes, but that idea was killed after he did laundry and the girls were still able to find him the next day. The only time when he was left alone was during the false-dawn when he liked to go out walking. On several occasions he had stopped by Naruto's apartment on the off chance that the blonde was awake that early, he never was and Sasuke could not bring himself to wake the slumbering teen.

He noticed it was getting late (well actually it was only about four in the afternoon) as he pushed past a particularly annoying purple haired girl and decided it was time to go home for the day. He scowled at the fact that he had not gotten any training done, it simply was not possible when the hordes were swarming. With a parting glare to those who surrounded him, he had to suppress a growl when he saw that the fierce look in his eyes only caused the girls to swoon and place their hands over their hearts. It seemed that they even obsessed over his least sociable of qualities.

When he reached the empty compound he found that he was infused with a restlessness that he could not shake. After eating a few tasteless morsels of chicken he started wandering the desolate area. If someone was to think about Sasuke's surroundings they would realize why he seemed so moody and temperamental. He lived in what was the scene of a brutal massacre and essentially a burial ground. It was a place that was only darkness now. The fabrics that once made up thin walls and various signs were rotting on broken supports. Most of the buildings needed new shingles for the roofs. Broken window panes begged for replacement. Occasionally a door that no longer quite fit into its jam would slam into its frame as the wind blew it. Sasuke hated it here, but for refused to leave, refused to cut himself from the ties of his past.

As the air began to cool he decided to risk a trip to the training grounds. Hopefully his theory about a tracking system would be proven false and he would be able to throw a kunai or two. Luck seemed to be with him as he jumped from roof top to roof top (an easy was to avoid the less die hard of his stalkers), no one seemed to have spotted him. Feeling like he might test he luck he made a quick detour to Naruto's apartment to see if the blonde would be interested in training with him. His mood soured slightly when he found the apartment empty, he figured that the other ninja was off eating ramen. Not wanting to risk being seen in town he decided that maybe it would be best to train alone tonight.

A scowl marred the handsome features when he saw that the training grounds were not empty. There was a stranger laying in the grass and watching the sky fade from vivid blue to a deep purple. The position of the other person reminded him of Shikamaru so much that at first he thought that the jounin had died his hair blond, or had acquired a long wig somewhere. The he took in what most would consider a well endowed womanly figure and decided that the lazy ninja probably was not the one that was in his way right now. Stalking forward he decided to command the person away so he could finally start his long awaited training. It was not until he was only a couple of feet away that the other person shifted their position and obsidian met cerulean.

The eyes were familiar, but the face was not. His mind desperately sought for a reasonable explanation and then it clicked. Sexy no Jutsu, Naruto's signature move. The blonde had performed the technique in front of him before, but he had never really paid it any heed, he was only interested in Naruto's true form after all. He mentally raised his eyebrows at the long plait of blonde hair and the flawless complexion that was not marred by the trademark whiskers. Of course it made sense to hide so obvious a mark when trying to escape from the curses that typically followed him. The eyes still held the spark that was a signature for the lively blonde, but there was something different hiding in their depths. It was something that Sasuke had never seen before. He shrugged it off as an illusion cast by the long eyelashes.

Then Sasuke realized the extent of the situation. He was alone with Naruto; no fan girls any where near them to interrupt. Plus the blonde was in a female body. All in all it was a perfect situation and Sasuke knew just how to exploit it in the most sinful of ways. He was going to turn on the Uchiha charm and flirt shamelessly until his victim confessed his identity and then he would admit his feelings. So he replaced his customary smirk with a sultry smile and filled his eyes with a fire that had nothing to do with his sharingan. He took a seat next to the clearing's other occupant and casually spoke one word, "Hey."

Blue eyes turned and gazed at him quizzically, confusion clear in the crystal orbs. The blonde pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees. Sasuke could see a delicate hand toying with something that was attached to the thigh furthest from him. Before he could figure out what it was the plump, soft lips began to move. "Hey there yourself."

He was surprised by the softness of the voice; its cadence was completely different from Naruto's male form. Shrugging that off as a part of the disguise, he continued on with his plan. He lifted his hand off the grass and casually brushed it across his neighbor's shoulder. The blonde shivered slightly and once again looked at him in confusion. As the head turned, the sun caught in the strands of golden hair and distracted Sasuke's gaze. He reached out again and grabbed the braid in his pale fingers. It was soft and he could not resist bringing the end of it up to his face and smelling the strands. They smelt like flowers, a whole field of them. That was not something that he had expected from his teammate. Curiosity and something similar to trepidation began to fill his mind as he removed the band that held the plait together. The spun gold tumbled down in a cascade of softness. As he felt it he began to have his doubts that the person in front of him was Naruto.

"Whad'ya do that for, teme?" The outraged cry assuaged his fears; it was something that was uniquely Naruto. So he began to comb through the hair with his fingers and when he finished with that he began to massage the other's head. He enjoyed the groans of pleasure that the other emitted. No words were passed between the two as the time slowly passed by. Sasuke's attention was grabbed away from his partner when a twig snapped in the woods nearby. He did not notice the blonde's small smirk that only existed when his back was turned. After staring in the direction of the sound for several moments he shrugged it off as a woodland animal and turned back to his victim. As soon as he focused on the blonde that was next to him, he heard a voice that sent a shiver down his spine and made his heart turn cold.

"Oi, Sasuke-teme, who's your companion, introduce me won't cha?"

Ohhhh, a cliff-hanger! What's going to happen next? I dunno! BTW the title of this had absolutely no meaning, just watching the newest movie and there's this part about house shoes with headlights and I decided to name this fic that. See ya next chapter!

Wind to thy wings!

Kayume


	2. Identities Revealed

_**House Shoes with Headlights**_

_Chapter 2: Identities Revealed_

"Oi, Sasuke-teme, who's your companion, introduce me won't cha?"

Those words of doom echoed through Sasuke's head. He did nothing to push them away; instead he allowed them to overrun rational thought. He never even noticed when he stood. His eyes wandered over the blonde girl that was still sitting in the grass. Her hair, he now noticed, was just a shade too dark, cascaded down her shoulders and created a perfect frame for eyes that had too many specks of green. His heart stilled when he turned his head and was blinded by a hideous combination of orange and blue. His mind was starting to function once more when his eyes met orbs of endless blue, ones that always seemed to spark with life. They still did, but now Sasuke saw something else buried there. It made him wonder why the blonde had decided to come to the training area this late in the day. The sun had already set its glow fading away as the crescent moon began to light the sky. Then the blue eyes began to fill with confusion and curiosity, once again making Sasuke realize what he had been doing before Naruto made his appearance. He did not know what to do, so he fell into his old habits. Stepping forward until he was almost chest to chest with the smaller ninja, he let familiar words roll off of his tongue, "Mind your own business, usurotonachi."

With that he simply walked away, leaving two very confused blondes behind. He missed the single tear that trailed down a whiskered cheek.

……………

Naruto stood and watched the retreating back of the person he considered to be his best friend, the same best friend that he had recently developed dangerous feelings for. He frowned as he wiped the stray tear off of his cheek and pushed away the weak feeling that seemed to overtake him after his meetings with Sasuke. It felt as if each of the encounters destroyed another piece of his heart. Stalking away, he ignored the girl that still sat in the grass.

…………….

With a poof of clouds, blonde hair changed back to its natural shade of bubblegum pink and green became the dominate color in the eyes. Sakura was not sure what to do now that her grand plan had failed. She had thought that it would work. Both boys had confided in her about their feelings and she had promised them both that she would covertly help them get together. Yet her machinations had failed. Maybe she should have enlisted the help of Shikamaru in making the plans; his genius might have come in handy.

How wrong she had been when she thought up this idea. She was nothing if not determined, though; and she swore to herself that Sasuke and Naruto would be an item by the end of the month and well on their way to marriage long before Sasuke's birthday.

……………

Naruto stormed into his apartment and slammed the door behind him so hard that the picture hanging next to the frame crashed to the ground. Glass splinters sprayed everywhere, including into his leg. He grimaced in pain before yanking the piece out and threw it onto the ground. Ignoring the blood flowing from his calf he stomped into the bathroom to douse his head in cold water. This had been one bad day.

When he exited the bathroom he finally noticed the person sitting on his couch. The man's presence in the apartment only made Naruto scowl deeper. He had forgotten about the meeting that the Hokage had scheduled. He was actually surprised with himself for forgetting since it was a monthly thing. With a sigh and a muttered curse, he threw himself down next to the dark haired man. As soon as he was seated he finally noticed how tense his companion was. With a quirked brow he trained his questioning eyes on the man.

He was greeted with a familiar scowl and masked gaze. It annoyed him to no end how similar this man was to a certain teammate of his, of course that only made sense. Pushing those thoughts away he sat and waited until the other was ready to speak. There was no need for the useless chatter that was usually associated with the blonde, since they both knew the truth. The chatter was just another layer in a carefully crafted and well cultivated mask that not many knew existed. Not even those that considered themselves close to Naruto. Only the man sitting next to him had seen through it instantly. He too had worn a mask for most of his life. He was trying to lose it now, to reveal the true self that was hidden beneath, but his tumultuous past was making it difficult. That was why he was here, sitting in the apartment that belonged to the village's outcast.

……………..

The man looked around, ignoring the curious gaze of the blonde ninja sitting next to him. This was the third month of this arrangement and yet he was still shocked by the starkness of the small living quarters. The only thing that had made it feel like a home had been the picture hanging by the door, but even that was broken now. Somehow the broken glass sprinkled next to the splintered wood seemed to reflect the owner. He still found it hard to believe that no knew how much of a broken spirit Naruto really was.

Thoughts of the blonde brought his eyes back to his couch companion. He was a little startled by the intensity radiating out of the blue eyes. It was his turn to raise a questioning brow. It was obvious that something had occurred shortly before the blonde's forceful return to the apartment. He had an idea that Sasuke was somehow involved.

His unvoiced question was answered with only another scowl and slightly hurt looking eyes. That look was quickly covered up though and replaced with a look of determination. It seemed that quiet time was over and now he would have to report. It was only a matter of moments before the blonde started with a deceptively simple question.

"How have things been with you, Itachi?"


	3. A Twist in the Plans

I'll admit that I posted the first two chapters of this story with no idea where it was going or how it was going to end. Then I pretty much forgot about it except when the occasional review would pop up in my e-mail. Then I was driving the other day and a plot bunny arrived in my head with all the forcefulness of a church bell; I knew what this story needed to be. That being said I'm back to working on it, but (and this is a fairly big but) it will still take time. I know where both Wounded Angel and Of Ants and Love need to go, but finding the time and inspiration to write new chapters has been few and far between. Hopefully this story will be a bit easier to finish because its plot is no where near as angsty as the other two! And that, I'm afraid, is all the hope I can give to you.

_**IMPORTANT:**_**I am changing the time restriction for Sasuke to marry from one month to six! With the added twists to the plot that I am planning there was just no way for it to work within such a short time frame.**

Also there will most likely be some spoilers for the current chapters in the manga, but mostly little things. I will take and disregard things as I wish, some characters that die in the series will still be alive and breathing in my story. This also implies that it will be like some story arcs never even occurred.

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Chapter 3: A Twist in the Plans 

Itachi felt no need to tip toe around to the heart of his topic. It made the formal aspects of these little meetings pass quickly and gave him extra time to relax and be himself for a short while before having to assume his role once again. Sometimes he thought that these monthly meetings were the only thing that kept him sane, especially now that Naruto was his contact. Both of them knew the hardships of pretending.

"Pein has recruited a new member. I don't know much about him yet, it seems like anytime I get anywhere near him he runs the other way. I did hear from Kisame that he has information about an imposter in the upper levels of the organization." Itachi accompanied his words with a knowing look, one that Naruto understood instantly.

The chances of there being more then one spy who had the ability to infiltrate the Akatsuki at the level Itachi had were slim, too slim for comfort. While this could be the break they were searching for, the risk it presented was beyond comprehension. If the new member revealed Itachi as a spy and had the proof to back it up the eldest Uchiha was dead.

Naruto was going to have to consult with Tsunade about this before he could even contemplate allowing Itachi to resume his work. "Stay here, I have to go talk to Granny. Hopefully it won't take too long for her to decide what to do."

He did not even wait for Itachi to respond before hopping out the window and running towards the Hokage's office. He ducked into a dark corner to change before entering the building. The Itachi assignment was official ANBU business and any reports made concerning it had to be done in uniform. The last piece he put on was the ceramic fox mask. How nobody guessed that he was the Red Fox was beyond him, but it was a great source of mirth to both Tsunade and Itachi, the only two who knew the truth.

Walking into the large building as Konoha's Red Fox was a completely different experience then walking in as Naruto. When going in as himself nobody paid any attention to him except for the occasional roll of the eyes or smile hidden beneath a hand. For the Red Fox people hurried out of his way, turning their eyes away with respect. He only had to nod at the guard outside the Fifth Hokage's door in order to gain entrance instead of the normal yelling that always ended with an annoyed Tsunade having to come to the door and allow him in herself.

Tonight he opened the door to find the Hokage asleep on top of a pile of papers; undoubtedly she would have ink staining her face when she sat up. On a normal day he would have found the most annoying way possible to wake her up, but he needed to speak with her quickly tonight and did not have the time for the screaming match that would ensue if he acted like himself. So instead he walked quickly and quietly up to her desk and the gently shook her shoulder until her eyes opened.

She appeared groggy at first, but the moment she saw his fox mask her eyes snapped into focus and she sat up straight. Tsunade knew that Naruto's meeting with Itachi was scheduled for tonight and if the Red Fox was in her office the news could not be good. His words confirmed it, "He's been compromised."

Naruto told her what the eldest Uchiha had reported earlier and waited impatiently for her opinion on the matter.

……………….

Itachi continued to sit on the sofa; his impassive eyes stared at the drabness of his surroundings. A man with less control would be pacing the room by now and occasionally he wished that he could be that man. Instead he kept his nervousness bundled deep inside, not to be betrayed by even the smallest twitch of a finger.

Whatever Naruto and Lady Tsunade decided to do would change his life forever, if they chose to send him back in for more information his life was almost certainly forfeit. If they took him off of his mission he would have to readjust to life on the right side of the law and left Konoha with a dangerous blind spot. He could not bear to think on it anymore so he turned his mind to other matters. Just as he decided to clean up the mess of shattered glass that Naruto had left behind there was a knock on the door. He was going to ignore it until the pounding sounded again.

"Naruto I know you're in there. Let me in." The temptation to see his brother without any murderous intent to interfere was too great for Itachi. He quickly used Henge no Jutsu to transform into Naruto before opening the door.

Sasuke did not wait to be invited inside, he just walked right in. Itachi closed the door and turned to stare at his younger brother. He was more then a little annoyed at the boy's impertinence and lack of manners. The nervousness that clearly showed in the younger Uchiha's eyes helped distract him from the breach in niceties. What could make his brother lose his mask of indifference?

"Naruto I need to tell you something. It has to do with what happened earlier." Sasuke uncharacteristically reached up and rubbed the back of his head.

Itachi waited for him to elaborate, but his brother seemed to be waiting for something himself. Itachi knew Sasuke was waiting for him to respond in some way so he matched his voice as closely as possible to Naruto's and responded. "Hn."

Sasuke looked at him oddly due to the un-Naruto like response, but it would have to do. Itachi simply could not bring himself to adopt the happy smile and forgiving nature that Sasuke was so accustomed to. Perhaps he could help his little brother to see a small piece of the real Naruto, even if he was not the real Naruto(1).

It seemed to take Sasuke a minute to decide if it was enough of a response to allow him to continue. Eventually he decided it was and brought his hand back down to his side. "You see the only reason I was acting like that with that girl earlier was because I thought she was someone else. I thought that it was the perfect opportunity to show my hand without any consequences, but then you showed up and it turned out I was wrong." Sasuke had begun wringing his hands in the middle of his little speech.

Understanding came in waves to Itachi. The first was why Naruto was always so sensitive to all things Sasuke. The second was what Sasuke was having so much trouble saying. The third and final wave was that if Sasuke did manage to get a confession out it would mean nothing but trouble for everyone. He had to find some way to distract his brother from his intent.

Moving his foot slightly he crushed a sliver of glass beneath his shoe, successfully drawing Sasuke's eyes to the broken frame, discarded picture, and trail of blood that led to the bathroom. It was enough for the nervous teen to forget what he was trying to say.

"What happened?" Sasuke's eyes betrayed his feelings toward his teammate even more as they worriedly search what he thought was Naruto's body for injuries.

"N-nothing." Itachi attempted to look sheepish as he tried his best impression of Naruto's voice, mimicry was not his best ability. In fact it was the one thing that he seemed to have no talent for.

Sasuke seemed suspicious. His eyes narrowed as he once again took note of Naruto's body. Itachi knew his brother was checking to make sure he was talking to the real Naruto and hoped that there were no imperfections in his henge. After a long moment Sasuke seemed assured that it really was Naruto in front of him, but his suspicion was still evident in his eyes. The younger Uchiha spoke while scanning the room for anything out of place. "What's going on Naruto, I can tell that someone else has been here and I can tell that they are strong. Are you in trouble?"

Itachi was not sure how to assuage his brother's fears without raising any more suspicion. He was busy hoping for a miracle while trying to come up with a plan when there was a noise by the window.

"I'm back, did you miss me?" The words had both Itachi and Sasuke turning to the newest addition to the room. Itachi would have paid good money to see Naruto's face beneath his mask, but at the same time he was more then overjoyed to see that the blond had kept his ANBU uniform on. He would have hated to see how the scene would have played out if Naruto had shown up as himself.

Sasuke had a look of shock on his face as he looked between who he thought was Naruto and Konoha's Red Fox. The Fox's words echoed inside of his head taking on new meanings. The strong presence he had felt earlier and Naruto's nervousness upon seeing him made sense. Naruto had been waiting for the Red Fox to come back. The casual way that the infamous ANBU had spoken to the blond inferred the familiarity between the two. With a stricken feeling in his chest Sasuke came to the only logical conclusion in his mind, Naruto and the Red Fox were lovers.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you Naruto. I can see that you are busy so I'll just be going." Sasuke could not get out of the apartment fast enough for his own liking. All he wanted to do was crawl into a hole and die from the pain exploding inside of his heart.

As soon as the door shut behind Sasuke's retreating back Itachi released his jutsu and Naruto took off his mask. When Naruto spoke there was a softness to his voice that hinted towards the hope he kept buried inside, "What was he here for?"

"He came to tell you something, but never really got around to saying what it was." Itachi had seen the look of pure despair on his brother's face as Sasuke had run out the door and feared that the boy had jumped to the wrong conclusion. Until Naruto had a chance to sort out his own problems with the younger Uchiha, Itachi was not going to be responsible for raising the blonde's hopes.

"He didn't figure out who you were though?"

"No, but he did seem to think something strange was going on here. I don't blame him; I really can't pull off a very convincing happy go lucky attitude."

"But he didn't recognize you, that's good. That's very good." Naruto's voice trailed off into a whisper at the end like he was speaking to himself. He took a moment to just stare out the window before turning back to Itachi. "Think you can transform back into me, Tsunade needs to see both of us in her office."

…………………

(1)Does this even make sense?

So there it is: chapter 3 of _House Shoes with Head Lights_. Do you think it took me long enough to update? I do hope you enjoyed it! Please tell me what you think!

Wind to thy wings!

Kayume


	4. New Beginnings

Disclaimer: not mine

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Chapter 4: New Beginnings

Sakura found Sasuke drowning himself in sake. She was walking home from a bad date when she saw him in the run down bar in a seedier part of town. She almost missed him in her rush to get out of the area and her efforts to restrain her anger towards the shinobi she had been out with earlier. What kind of man let a girl walk home alone, even if she was a fearsome kunoichi?

The commotion of a fight breaking out had drawn her eyes to the bar. She was just about to pass it off as a couple of drunkards and leave the situation to sort itself out when she spotted her teammate sitting at the bar. He was fairly obvious, being the only one still seated. The rest of the patrons had gathered around to cheer for the brawl. Something about the hunched over posture that Sasuke had adopted drew her inside to check on him. On her way to the open barstool next to him she paused only long enough to knock the fighters on the backs of their heads just hard enough for them to pass out. The crowd gave her disgruntled looks for interrupting their fun before returning to their drinks.

Sasuke did not even look at her when she sat down. He just continued to sip at his drink as she gave him a once over. He looked as if he had been there awhile. She turned to order herself a glass of white wine when he chose to speak.

"It's hopeless, he already has a lover. I saw them together earlier." His head seemed to droop even more with each bitter word.

Confusion raced through Sakura. She knew he could not be talking about Naruto because she happened to know that the blond was head-over-heals for Sasuke. But if it was not their teammate, who could make possibly Sasuke so miserable? The answer was no one, only Naruto had ever been able to break through Sasuke's stoic demeanor to make any sort of impression. Except for Itachi that is, but if he had seen his older brother Sakura was sure he would be in a vastly different mood. "That can't be right. Sasuke I assure you that there is no possible chance that Naruto has a lover."

"It's the Red Fox." The utter defeat Sakura heard in his voice made her want to cry. "What reason would a top ranked ANBU be in Naruto's apartment? There is none, Naruto is no where near strong enough to merit a visit from the Fox, not anymore. Not after…"

Sasuke gave up on the small cup of sake in front of him and reached for the bottle instead. After taking a long swallow he turned his tired eyes towards Sakura for the first time. What she saw in the black depths made her heart break for him. There was utter despair hidden beneath a veil of pain. He looked like a little boy, lost and alone in a cruel world. Tentatively she reached towards him, "Sasuke…"

"'I'm back, didya miss me?'" His cheerful tone caused Sakura to pull her hand away from his arm, afraid of his sudden change. Just as quickly he went back to his remorseful tone. "How am I supposed to interpret those words, that degree of familiarity? I can prove it to you Sakura, follow me."

He did not even give her a chance to respond. He just stood up and walked out the door. Before she could follow the bartender grabbed her arm. "You might want to be paying 'fore you go."

Great, not only did her date leave her to walk home alone, now Sasuke stuck her with the tab. When she heard the total she could not stop herself from cursing. Sasuke was a dead man for cleaning out her wallet like this. But even in her anger she begrudgingly gave the Uchiha some respect, how he could even walk after drinking so much was amazing. She handed the money over with a cringe and then hurried to catch up to her teammate before he had the chance to do anything stupid.

Sasuke was no longer sure how to tell the difference between reality and his imagination, the two had become intertwined sometime after his third bottle of sake. He started drinking in an attempt to forget what he had seen in Naruto's apartment, but it seemed that the more he drank the more he thought about it. Then the more he thought about it the more he drank. It was a vicious cycle, really. It seemed that the more alcohol that he consumed the more erotic the scenes that his mind was conjuring up became. The anger and jealousy caused a burning pain in his chest that he could not seem to escape.

He was vaguely aware of Sakura chasing after him. He knew he should really wait for her to catch up, but he was too desperate to reach Naruto's apartment. Not only did he want to prove to Sakura that the blond had found himself a lover, but he wanted to prove it himself. A large part inside of him wanted it all to be a big misunderstanding, one that they could all laugh about later.

Sasuke was just feet from the door to Naruto's building when he saw them approaching from the opposite direction. He stopped walking, unable to take his eyes off of the pair. Time seemed to stop and prevented the pain that he knew would soon be exploding inside of his chest. Sakura bumped into his shoulder unintentionally and time righted itself. Sasuke was vaguely aware of her staring at him strangely before she followed his gaze. She issued a small gasp of surprise when she saw the Red Fox watching them with his arms full of Naruto.

Their teammate had one arm wrapped around the ANBU's shoulders while the Fox seemed to be supporting most of his weight. He had one arm snaked around Naruto's waist, his hand resting on the blonde's hip. His other hand was placed firmly on Naruto's chest. Their sides were pressed together.

Naruto swayed even closer to the Fox and laid his head against the masked man's shoulder. In response to this movement the ANBU reached up with his free arm and grabbed Naruto's shoulder. The two looked ready to kiss. Sasuke had to fight the whimper that was trying to escape from his lips.

The Red Fox began moving again, but Sasuke was too numb to notice. It was Sakura that watched with narrowed eyes the way the famed ANBU moved, the way he walked sent off an alarm in her mind. When she saw a stray tuff of blonde hair that had escaped from the mask and hood she knew that her guess was not far off. It was not until he was walking past her that she spoke. The tone she used made it sound like she was talking to herself, but she was sure that the man had heard. "Naruto just what are you up to?"

The way the Red Fox's eyes sought hers out confirmed her suspicious and in that moment they both understood. Naruto was the Red Fox and all was not what it seemed. Sakura could not even fathom how her teammate had made it into ANBU, let alone become one of the most fearsome fighters in the squad, or why he had to carry a clone of himself through town. What she did know was that Sasuke had been mistaken in his hasty conclusions and it was going to cause her one heck of a headache to sort everything out.

……………….

Naruto banged into his apartment dragging the barely conscious Itachi with him. He sat the older man on the lone bed and dispelled the jutsu that was placed on Itachi for the third time that night. The Uchiha felt the chakra mask dispel and fell heavily against the pillows. Without a word he drifted off to sleep.

For Naruto things were not that simple. Why had Sasuke and Sakura been outside of his apartment like that? Of all the inopportune timing! That was twice in one day that Sasuke had stumbled in on things that he was never supposed to see. He could only imagine what the raven must think was going on. Why could things never be easy when it came to Sasuke? Or any of the Uchihas for that matter? With a frustrated groan Naruto ran his fingers angrily through his hair.

Itachi was even more of a problem then his brother, at least now that Tsunade had made a decision about what to do with him. In fact that meeting was what they were returning from when they had run into Sasuke and Sakura.

Tsunade had decided that it was too dangerous for Itachi to continue his work in the Akatsuki, a proclamation that had been met with great protest from the man in question. No matter what Itachi said could not seem to change the Hokage's mind though and Naruto could not help but notice that Itachi actually seemed relieved by her decision. There was one major issue with Itachi being brought back to Konoha, he was too recognizable. It was Tsunade's solution to this that had the Uchiha passed out on Naruto's bed.

The famed medic ninja had used chakra to reshape Itachi's face. She had remolded his cheekbones and created a new nose. His jaw was now a bit longer and his lips fuller. Naruto had to admit that while Itachi had been beautiful before, he was even more gorgeous now.

The biggest change had to be the eyes though. Itachi had released the sharingan for the first time in years. Onyx replaced the angry red. They were eyes that Naruto recognized instantly, they were Sasuke's eyes. The change in his vision was the reason why Itachi had needed so much help to make it back to Naruto's apartment. To him everything was a blur of movement. He had become so accustomed to superhuman vision that normal sight was sensory overload. Plus the sharingan kept trying to bleed back into life, so instead of keeping Itachi at the hospital overnight as Tsunade had planned, he had been forced to return to Naruto's apartment.

With another groan Naruto finally cleaned up the mess of glass by his door. Gingerly he picked up the picture that had fallen. It was of Team Kakashi taken just after Sasuke had returned. Sasuke wore a secretive smirk as he stared at Naruto in it. Sakura was beaming at the camera and Kakashi was, well, Kakashi hidden beneath his mask. With a sigh Naruto set the picture down on the kitchen counter and went to heat up some food.

In the front of his cupboards were the expected cups of instant ramen, but buried behind them was a bevy of other foods. Pulling out ingredients Naruto began to prepare chicken in a teriyaki sauce with a side of roasted bell peppers and pineapple. His true eating habits would shock his friends, but the truth of the matter was that he hated ramen. It had been cheep and easy when he was younger, a way to keep his tummy full on long nights. Being without parents and the outcast of the village meant that he had struggled to find food for most of his life; ramen was just a sad reminder of those times.

After eating he sat down in the chair that would be his bed for the night and contemplated the future. His first task was going to have to be finding a bigger place. Itachi had been placed in his care, meaning the older man would be staying with him for a while. He had to come up with a new identity for the man and a viable excuse for his presence in Naruto's life. Tsunade had told him to pass Itachi off as his lover. Naruto could not bring himself to contemplate the idea, not when he had designs on Sasuke. When he felt a headache coming on he turned off the light and decided to leave his problems for tomorrow. It had been a long day and it was time to sleep.

* * *

A/N: Wow! I can't believe that I actually managed to update twice in less than a week. I had actually planned to finish and post this chapter last night, but I saw Sweeny Todd instead. There was something very disturbing about watching Snape, Bellatrix, and Peter Pettigrew sing along with Captain Jack! My friend and I laughed through just about the whole thing!

Anywho, won't you leave me a review? I'd appreciate any feedback you have for me!

Wind to thy wings!

Kayume


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